Mrs. Gillibrand
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the
Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the 200th anniversary of the
War of 1812, which was fought between the United States of America and Great
Britain beginning on June 18, 1812, in response to British violations of
neutral rights of the United States, seizure of ships of the United States,
restriction of trade between the United States and other countries, and the
impressment of sailors of the United States into the Royal
Navy.

Whereas in standing up to the British, and fighting the
conquerors of Napoleon to a draw, the War of 1812 revived flagging nationalism,
cleared the way for expanded overseas trade, and ended an era of introversion
by the United States;

Whereas most of the public buildings of Washington, DC,
were set alight, including the White House and the Capitol;

Whereas Sackets Harbor, New York, on the eastern shore of
Lake Ontario, was the site of more naval construction during the war than
anywhere else;

Whereas the war came to the State of New York in late
December 1813 when the village of Black Rock, located 2 miles below Buffalo on
the front lines of the war, was torched by the British and only 1 house was
spared;

Whereas Buffalo, of which it is said that no other
town in the United States saw more of the war, came under regular siege
from the British and was ultimately burned despite assurances that private
property would be spared;

Whereas the British capture of Fort Niagara, in a surprise
night offensive on December 18, 1813, provided control over the mouth of the
Niagara River to the British as well as the launching pad for its attacks on
Buffalo and Black Rock;

Whereas the town of Lewiston, New York, which served as
the headquarters for the United States Army during its attack across the river
at Queenston, Ontario, was the target of British retaliation in December 1813,
resulting in the deaths of many civilians and the destruction of all
buildings;

Whereas despite being outnumbered 30 to 1, members of the
Tuscarora Nation offered the first resistance the British and Mohawk allies had
seen, saving the lives of dozens of Lewiston citizens by allowing them to
escape the attack;

Whereas Jacob Brown, a pioneer settler in the Black River
country of upstate New York and a general in the New York Militia, led the
successful defense of Fort Erie in the late summer of 1814, which lifted the
spirits of the people of the United States at an important time and resulted in
Brown emerging from the war a national hero;

Whereas the British plan to invade from the North, in a
manner similar to that of General John Burgoyne in 1777, was halted at
Plattsburgh, New York, in September 1814;

Whereas the victory at Plattsburgh shattered any hopes of
British gains in the North, helped maintain national morale after Washington
was sacked in that dark summer of 1814, and was described by Winston Churchill
as the most decisive engagement of the war;

Whereas from the death and destruction of the War of 1812
there was born a spirit of cooperation and a vision of peace between the United
States and Canada;

Whereas the unparalleled cooperation, prosperity, and
friendship that developed between the United States and Canada since the War of
1812 find the deepest roots and daily expressions in the border communities
across upstate New York, which was the front line of the War of 1812;

Whereas the bicentennial of the War of 1812 offers an
exceptional opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the true and lasting
legacy of 200 years of peace between the United States and Canada; and

Whereas through the turmoil of war, a young nation endured
and saw its banner continue to wave over a land free and brave: Now, therefore,
be it